A gracEmail subscriber asks what Peter meant when he said: "Therefore repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and so that he may send the Messiah appointed for you -- that is, Jesus. This one heaven must receive until the time all things are restored, which God declared from times long ago through his holy prophets" (Acts 3:19-21 NET). * * * Peter and John have just healed a lame man in the name of Jesus Messiah and the Jewish leaders have asked for an explanation. The ensuing conversation mentions three … [Read more...]
HOLDING THE WORLD LIGHTLY
We live during an interim on God's calendar, a defined but unknown period of time that began with a significant event and that will end when Jesus comes again. This is the period of God's conquests, which began when Jesus was enthroned at God's right hand in heaven and will continue until the last enemy, death, has been destroyed (Psalm 110:1). It is simultaneously the period of heaven's reception of Jesus, which will end with the redemptive restoration of all things spoken by the ancient prophets (Acts 3:20-21). In both respects, we live between the Already and the Not Yet. Because the … [Read more...]
70 A.D. AND CHRIST’S RETURN
A gracEmail subscriber heard a preacher say that Jesus Christ returned invisibly and for the last time when the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in A.D. 70. This reader asks whether we ought to expect Jesus to return visibly and in person at the end of human history. * * * Indeed we should. Both Scripture and church history tell me that the preacher you heard was mistaken. I will mention but one of many Scriptures. Shortly before Jesus' betrayal, his apostles were admiring the great stones of Herod's Temple. Jesus replied that a time would come when not one stone would be left … [Read more...]